Copper Harbor Trails Club Mountain bikers on the Garden Brook trail enjoying the challenges of one of the Copper Harbor club’s wilderness bike trails.

EAGLE RIVER — The Copper Harbor Trails Club (CHTC) gave a presentation to the Keweenaw County Board at Wednesday’s regular meeting. The purpose of the presentation was to inform board members of steps the club is taking to reduce liability risks on the mountain bike trails operated by the CHTC in Grant Township.

One of those steps, that has been in development for three years, is a program will be put into service with the coming mountain bike season this year.

“This year is going to be our first year of operating a mountain bike patrol in Copper Harbor,” CHTC Board Chairman Ben Ciavola said. “This is an operation that is going to be under the National Ski Patrol, so we have the backing of the national organization. They are the gold standard for ski patrol and bike patrolling at the volunteer level across the country. So, we have started a new chapter of the National Ski Patrol here in Copper Harbor.”

Ciavola told the board that the club will begin its first training session on May 2, for the 14 bike patrollers who have signed up. It is a first-level first-aid course, he said, so that while they are out patrolling the trails, they are ready to assist the Keweenaw County First Responders with any incidents that occur on the trail, such as “helping with extractions, helping get people to the scene of any incidents quickly, and having the right training when they do get there.”

Ciavola said that as part of the program, CHTC has been in lengthy discussions with several organizations, including: Mercy EMS, Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office, all first responders operating within the county, as well as 911 (Negaunee dispatch) and its emergency manager.

“So, they are aware of what we are doing,” said Ciavola. “(There have been) two or three meetings already this year, putting together the protocols, and we’re also discussing ways of getting people trained up to as high-level as possible.”

Ciavola said that in addition to the upcoming training, CHTC has additional levels of training that can allow for patrollers to reach the skill level of first responders.

In fact, he said, one of the bike patrollers has been trained through both National Ski Patrols and first responder training, as well as state EMT training, which, he said adds another certified EMT to the Keweenaw first responder pool of county personnel.

“So, this event that we’re holding coming up in a little over a week and a half is going to be your first-level first aid course, so we’re getting people certified and ready to deal with acute injuries they find on the trail.”

“We’re really happy about that,” said Ciavola. “That’s Mariah (Summers), up at the Mountain Lodge, she’s been doing a fantastic job, really taken everything to heart and is excited to be on the scene up there all summer long, as we get into the bike season.”

The focus of the program is to ensure quick response time to injuries, which will also help to mitigate liability risks to the county and the club.

“We are just trying to make sure that as more and more riders come up into the harbor,” Ciavola said, “we have the manpower to get people off the trail when they’re injured, and make sure we have the resources available in a county that has fewer population, perhaps, than the number of tourists in town on weekends.”